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2019+ BMW 3 AND 4-SERIES FORUMS (G2x Generation) General G20 Sedan / G22 Coupe / G26 Gran Coupe Discussions G20 US spec headlights compared - LED (base), Adaptive LED (ZCV) and Laser

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      01-10-2019, 07:18 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by praxis218 View Post
Wow that base LED has got to be intentionally uglified
These are probably modular, and I assume they're limited in the extent to which they can over-design these, but yeah, I'm guessing they didn't try too hard to make them look desirable.
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      01-10-2019, 07:24 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by praxis218 View Post
Wow that base LED has got to be intentionally uglified
The new LEDs are as ugly as the stock halogens was when the F30 launched. Maybe even a bit worse.

And even the adaptive LED looks to have worse looking DRL
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      01-10-2019, 07:25 AM   #25
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I wonder how different the DRL "Halo" patterns will look between those three.
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      01-10-2019, 07:29 AM   #26
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on the base light, why even have the inner fake light at all? it does nothing.

same with the adaptive led. its just a cornering light.

Their icon light design is awful. i miss the corona rings. its a shame theyve got away from the one thing that stood out for them. They seem to lean on huge grills now for brand recognition.
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      01-10-2019, 07:34 AM   #27
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Liking the new look
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      01-10-2019, 07:46 AM   #28
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based off the options its going to be hard to not go with the laser set up, just would have to see the benefits in person when driving to see if its worth the added cost. It does look pretty sexy though, and who doesn't want to say "yea my headlights are lasers, no big deal" lol
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      01-10-2019, 07:55 AM   #29
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This is interesting...if those images are true in their entirety, the Laserlights on the G20 are designed and will operate differently from those on the G05 and G15.

On the X5 and M850i, the outer/upper lights are LED low beams and high beams, the upper/inner lights are solely LED low beams, the lower/outer lights are LED high beams and Laserlight high beams, and the lower/inner lights are LED high beams.

If that image is correct, there will be no LED high beams, only Laserlights. This would mean no more speed-dependent Laserlight activation which, to me, says even further output reduction and less overall difference in projection distance between Laserlight and LED. Of course the benefit of a wider color spectrum remains and will still give a net benefit.

NH_F36, out of curiosity, where did you get these images from?
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      01-10-2019, 07:59 AM   #30
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I'm just glad BMW finally stopped offering halogens as base lights. They may be ugly to some, but at least they're LED!


Quote:
Originally Posted by wdeerfield View Post
Their icon light design is awful. i miss the corona rings. its a shame theyve got away from the one thing that stood out for them. They seem to lean on huge grills now for brand recognition.
I agree with this! I'm bummed that they're straying away from the corona rings, and I'm not really liking the huge grilles. Maybe they will grow on me in time.
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      01-10-2019, 08:43 AM   #31
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OBMWBrian View Post
This is interesting...if those images are true in their entirety, the Laserlights on the G20 are designed and will operate differently from those on the G05 and G15.

On the X5 and M850i, the outer/upper lights are LED low beams and high beams, the upper/inner lights are solely LED low beams, the lower/outer lights are LED high beams and Laserlight high beams, and the lower/inner lights are LED high beams.

If that image is correct, there will be no LED high beams, only Laserlights. This would mean no more speed-dependent Laserlight activation which, to me, says even further output reduction and less overall difference in projection distance between Laserlight and LED. Of course the benefit of a wider color spectrum remains and will still give a net benefit.

NH_F36, out of curiosity, where did you get these images from?
I bet these pictures are mislabeled. If you analyze the photos from the headlight photos from https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?t=1540476#
you'll find that the 2 upper lights come on together, and the lower 2 also come on as a unit, inferring both uppers are low-beam, and the lowers are high-beam. It's been said that Laserlights are SUPPLEMENTAL to the LED high's above 37 mph (or whatever the threshold is), so it's not possible to have no LED high's.
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      01-10-2019, 08:46 AM   #32
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With the lasers you can blast that Prius doing 10 mph under speed limit in front of you
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      01-10-2019, 08:50 AM   #33
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Do we know for sure that the laser lights will be available in the U.S.? I was under the impression that they weren't DOT approved yet.

Regarding the two LED options, I wouldn't count on coding to turn non adaptive lights into adaptive lights. They've done this in the past, and they were two distinctive parts, one of which did not have all the components necessary for the adaptive functions. So if it's the same here, and by the looks of the different lights it probably is, coding isn't going to do much if anything. Non adaptive housings are much cheaper to produce, and they've not going to waste money putting parts in them that won't ever be used.
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      01-10-2019, 08:50 AM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jlin101 View Post
I bet these pictures are mislabeled. If you analyze the photos from the headlight photos from https://g20.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?t=1540476#
you'll find that the 2 upper lights come on together, and the lower 2 also come on as a unit, inferring both uppers are low-beam, and the lowers are high-beam. It's been said that Laserlights are SUPPLEMENTAL to the LED high's above 37 mph (or whatever the threshold is), so it's not possible to have no LED high's.
Yup, that would have been my guess. I was just curious as the OP is a CA at a dealership, so he likely got those pictures through some official channel.

After looking at the pictures in the thread you posted (I didn't pay much attention to the headlight shots when that post first went up), these will almost certainly work the same as with other cars then.

You can also see in the high beam picture that the lower outer lights are split, so the outer halves will be the Laserlights, while the inner halves are LEDs.
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      01-10-2019, 08:57 AM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mose121 View Post
Do we know for sure that the laser lights will be available in the U.S.? I was under the impression that they weren't DOT approved yet.

Regarding the two LED options, I wouldn't count on coding to turn non adaptive lights into adaptive lights. They've done this in the past, and they were two distinctive parts, one of which did not have all the components necessary for the adaptive functions. So if it's the same here, and by the looks of the different lights it probably is, coding isn't going to do much if anything. Non adaptive housings are much cheaper to produce, and they've not going to waste money putting parts in them that won't ever be used.
They are definitely available in the US market. There were recent developments in DOT regulations allowing further implementation of laser headlights. The G05 X5 and G15 8 Series also have them in the US market, but the lasers are just powered down a little compared to the European market.

On coding, what people are talking about is enabling the selective beam operation, also known as light tunnel. We can have automatic high beams in the US, but the function where the headlights angle themselves side to side to allow the high beams to remain on but pointing around oncoming cars is turned off. For this to be coded in, the headlights have to be adaptive and have auto high beam functionality from the factory.
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      01-10-2019, 09:16 AM   #36
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Laser will do
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      01-10-2019, 09:25 AM   #37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///M-Furby View Post
laser can do a ton of things, its used in thousands of applications. the real question, is what did BMW do to make laser better than Led?

categories
what did they do
improvement from led
what is lost for not having laser
lifespan
reliability
cost

if its just " cause you can say you have laser", and no actual benefits, than meh.

again, people are looking for what is actually being sold, not what could be sold if bmw made that

I have one simple request, and that is to have cars with frickin' laser beams as headlights!
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      01-10-2019, 09:34 AM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeeKay View Post
The new LEDs are as ugly as the stock halogens was when the F30 launched. Maybe even a bit worse.

And even the adaptive LED looks to have worse looking DRL
Quote:
Originally Posted by wdeerfield View Post
on the base light, why even have the inner fake light at all? it does nothing.

same with the adaptive led. its just a cornering light.

Their icon light design is awful. i miss the corona rings. its a shame theyve got away from the one thing that stood out for them. They seem to lean on huge grills now for brand recognition.
I'm in agreement with both of you. It's a small thing but the new DRL is so sad looking. I loved the DRL of my F80.
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      01-10-2019, 09:48 AM   #39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OBMWBrian View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by mose121 View Post
Do we know for sure that the laser lights will be available in the U.S.? I was under the impression that they weren't DOT approved yet.

Regarding the two LED options, I wouldn't count on coding to turn non adaptive lights into adaptive lights. They've done this in the past, and they were two distinctive parts, one of which did not have all the components necessary for the adaptive functions. So if it's the same here, and by the looks of the different lights it probably is, coding isn't going to do much if anything. Non adaptive housings are much cheaper to produce, and they've not going to waste money putting parts in them that won't ever be used.
They are definitely available in the US market. There were recent developments in DOT regulations allowing further implementation of laser headlights. The G05 X5 and G15 8 Series also have them in the US market, but the lasers are just powered down a little compared to the European market.

On coding, what people are talking about is enabling the selective beam operation, also known as light tunnel. We can have automatic high beams in the US, but the function where the headlights angle themselves side to side to allow the high beams to remain on but pointing around oncoming cars is turned off. For this to be coded in, the headlights have to be adaptive and have auto high beam functionality from the factory.
Ahh, I knew there were a few examples of U.S. models with lasers but last I checked they were high end low production models that got exemptions. Didn't realize they are available now on higher volume models.

Coding the Variable Light Distribution/tunneling functions on the LED's isn't always that straightforward. There was still an issue coding those functions on 2019 model year vehicles and no one has cracked it yet as far as I'm aware.
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      01-10-2019, 09:52 AM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by OBMWBrian View Post
They are definitely available in the US market. There were recent developments in DOT regulations allowing further implementation of laser headlights. The G05 X5 and G15 8 Series also have them in the US market, but the lasers are just powered down a little compared to the European market.

On coding, what people are talking about is enabling the selective beam operation, also known as light tunnel. We can have automatic high beams in the US, but the function where the headlights angle themselves side to side to allow the high beams to remain on but pointing around oncoming cars is turned off. For this to be coded in, the headlights have to be adaptive and have auto high beam functionality from the factory.
There is one small wrinkle to this. For the 2017+ 3-series, BMW removed the active shutters from the headlight modules that is required to ensure the anti-glare portion of this functionality works properly. If you have a 2016 or earlier 3 series with the Adaptive LEDs you can code the european highbeam stuff to work (and avoid glaring other drivers). 2017+, no dice. Yeah, the swiveling and such will work right, but you'll blind anyone in front of you or oncoming.

Also, until the headlights are actually tested, we don't know if the laser lights really offer any benefit (other than looking cool). I'll assume that they will offer better overall visibility, but we need to wait and see.

Here's the link to the IIHS headlight testing on the 2018 3-series sedan. The LEDs are noticeably superior to the lousy base (which I think are LEDS on 2017/2018 models too):

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/ve...s-4-door-sedan
Click the "Headlights" section on the left of the screen to see.

However, LEDS aren't always noticeably superior to even the older Xenon (or HID) lights we had. Check the testing results for the X5.

https://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/ve.../x5-4-door-suv

Again, click the "Headlights" link.

This is why I didn't spec the LEDs on my 2016 X5. The LED low beams are slightly better than the Xenon on the driver's side but noticeably poorer on the passenger side. Plus the Xenon high beams are noticeably better in all directions. Given that I live in primo deer country, high beam power/distance is very important to me.

I know everyone digs the look of the new lights but I'd make sure they actual perform better before spending more money on them.
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      01-10-2019, 11:00 AM   #41
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Looks like a lazy design
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      01-10-2019, 11:10 AM   #42
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Wait... 🤔 where are my halogens! Come on bmw...How could u do that to us! Its not even 2020 and u kill halogens?
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      01-10-2019, 11:41 AM   #43
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Quote:
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Looks like a lazy design
They probably designed the high end versions first then just fished this one from the trash bin.
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      01-10-2019, 12:13 PM   #44
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Can you weaponize that laser by coding?
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